Borrowed Time
by OrchisAilsa
Summary: Using the dimension cannon Rose has finally made it back from Pete's world, but she has still not quite reached her destination. The Doctor she finds is younger, lighter somehow, and has absolutely no idea who she is. Together they work to get her back where she needs to be, and along the way they manage to fall for each other yet again... or for the first time.
1. Chapter 1

**A note on timelines:  
For Rose this occurs late in Series 4, before _T_****_he Stolen Earth_****. For the Doctor this occurs shortly before _Storm Warning_, and he is suffering from one of his many bouts of amnesia - in this case, the incident that he will later remember in _Terror Firma_. There are gentle allusions to, but no significant spoilers for, all of these episodes. The first chapter will be pretty tame, ratings-wise, but eventually it will heat up to M. **

* * *

She hit the ground gasping with the force of the blast. Looking around she saw no trace of Torchwood, and not a zeppelin in the sky. Had she... made it? After all this time... had the dimension cannon finally worked? With shaking fingers she pressed a few buttons on the device clutched in her white-knuckled hand.

Rose could hardly believe it, but the transmat wouldn't lie. There was the evidence, as plain as day - it had located the TARDIS and locked onto its coordinates.

_Home_. she thought to herself, daring to hope, her throat tight with emotion. _Take me back to him. Take me home._ She pushed the button.

When she saw a hint of blue in the alley her heart started pounding. As she walked towards it she pulled the TARDIS key out from under her shirt, where it always hung from the cord around her neck. Slowly, with shaking hands she fit the key in the lock, nearly crying from joy as she felt it give way.

"Doctor?" she called out, in a quivering voice, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stepped inside. "Doctor? It's me!"

Then, blinking, she took in her surroundings. The TARDIS... it looked so different. Posh. Gothic. Ornate. This wasn't right. What had happened?

Rose glanced at the readings on her transmat device again, trying to make sense out of what she was seeing, and so she didn't notice when he entered the room.

"Well, hello there, Miss," he said in a soft, warm baritone, startling Rose out of her calculations. "You called?"

"Did I?" Rose replied stupidly, taking in the sight of him. He was fit and handsome, with brown curls that fell into his face, doing their best to obscure a pair of curiously intense blue eyes. He wore a brocade waistcoat over a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and he was wiping his hands with a cloth, which were presumably dirty from working in the innards of the TARDIS. His TARDIS.

"You... you're him," she stammered.

_Regeneration_, her mind reminded her as the shock wore off, _either older or younger. Younger, most likely, since he doesn't seem to have a clue who you are._

"Indeed," he replied, apparently amused. "Unless, perhaps, you were wandering into my Police Box by chance, looking for someone else called Doctor?"

He smiled teasingly and Rose relaxed just a little. There he was. She could see him now, inside this stranger's eyes. Calmer, she took a breath and looked up at him.

"Actually," she told him, "Now that you mention it, I was."

He quirked an eyebrow and gave her a curious look.

"I _was_ looking for you," she attempted to explain. "But not _you _you. A different you. And I guess this stupid thing found the first TARDIS it could sense and just locked on." She gestured with her transmat.

"And then I saw her here..." she went on, trying to speak past the lump that was forming in her throat, "and it... it's just been so long. I've been trying so long to find you... I was so happy to be back. So, I didn't think- I... I just let myself in. I didn't mean to intrude."

He nodded as she spoke and she could almost see the gears turning in his head, making sense of her stumbling words.

Rose wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand, she knew she should apologize, leave immediately, and avoid influencing the Doctor's past, which might create a paradox. He hadn't known her, after all, when he'd met her in the basement at Henrik's.

_Or had he?_ a voice in her head whispered dangerously.

On the other hand, now that she had made it to her own dimension once again and her transmat had led her here, she had no idea how to find the "right" Doctor. And her reasons for wanting to find him, she reminded herself, were not only personal. The fate of the universe depended on it.

_And if this man is still the Doctor_, she thought to herself,_ he would never let the risk of a silly little paradox keep him from saving the world._

"Doctor," she addressed him more confidently this time, her course of action decided, "I know you don't have any idea who I am but... I'm... a friend, I promise you. And I'm lost. And I'm afraid there are an awful lot of people whose lives depend on me finding my way. Can you help me, please?"

The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully for another moment, then said, "Well, Miss... ah... I confess you have me at a disadvantage. It seems you know a great deal about me and it appears you even have a key to my TARDIS, while I don't even know your-"

"Rose Tyler," she offered hastily, reaching out her hand to shake his.

Apparently amused, he lifted her hand to his lips and brushed them against her knuckles softly. Something in Rose's belly tightened at the playfully chivalrous gesture. He seemed so light-hearted, so happy. Her Doctor would never have been so cavalier as to kiss a complete stranger.

"Rose Tyler," he said, as if trying the name on for size. "It's nice to meet you. And don't worry. We'll get you sorted out, and figure out where and when you need to be. But first things first: can I offer you a cup of tea?"

* * *

The Doctor studied Miss Rose Tyler as she appreciatively inhaled the scent of the tea. She was human, appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but with a hardness in her eyes that made her seem a bit older. She had known suffering. She had known loss.

He marveled at how she seemed so at home in the TARDIS, and even more at the TARDIS' warm reaction to her presence, as though they were close friends.

_How would the TARDIS know anyone so intimately who isn't a Time Lord?_ He wondered. But the TARDIS wasn't telling.

"Where are we?" Rose asked him after a quiet moment and a few warm sips.

"We're in Kent," he replied. "Folkestone, I believe. I confess I'm having rather an odd week - a bit of memory trouble, you see. And I can't put my finger on why, but this place seems important... I came back to look for clues. But since I can't remember when I was last here, it's a bit difficult to retrace my steps. I know there was a library... but let's not worry about that, shall we? One problem at a time. What brings you here, Rose Tyler?"

She looked trepidatious.

"I'm not really sure how much I can say," she began slowly, "without creating a paradox."

"As much about you, and as little about me as possible," he suggested. He found her acute awareness of such risks incongruous for a young human. And intriguing.

She seemed uncertain of where to start, and stared down into her teacup with knit brows. Reaching across the table, he brushed her hand to reassure her, and felt an unfamiliar jolt in his belly as she looked up into his eyes with a flash of desperate longing. But why? What had happened to this poor girl?

When she spoke, it was to the cup in her hands, and her voice was hollow.

"I travelled with the D- with you, I mean, for a few years. Future you, I guess. But something... happened. I got trapped in another dimension. Without him. So I started working with... with an organization in that dimension that specializes in alien technology. I wanted to get back. I promised... I..."

The pain in her voice made his hearts hurt.

"Rose," he said but she held up a hand to silence him, then wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Time goes faster there, y' see? And something big is coming. Something really, really bad. That's why I've been trying so hard to get back. And I made it... I actually _made it,_ so I have to find him. I have to warn him in time, so that he can keep that bad thing from happening in this dimension too."

"So that's the objective?" the Doctor asked gently, to clarify. "Locate my future self and get you back to him?"

She nodded, tears threatening to spill once again.

"Easy as pie," he told her, which was not exactly a lie, smiling reassuringly at her as he stood up, offering her a hand, which she took gratefully. "First, we'll get you some rest, which it looks like you could use, and in the meantime I'll find all of the equipment I need to calibrate my TARDIS with his. I will get you back to him, Rose."

He was unprepared for the force with which she flung herself into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder and clinging to him like her life depended on it. Perhaps it did. So he did the only thing he could do: he held her tight and tried to project comfort and safety with every thought.

_She smells wonderful_, he noticed, and immediately felt guilty for noticing such a thing when she was obviously in distress. Familiar somehow. But exotic. It made his seventh and eighth senses tingle, and he wasn't sure why.

"I... I'm sorry," she said, once she had relaxed her grip and stepped back. "That was inappropriate. I just... you're not him, I know, not yet... but really, you are. Deep down, I know you are. And I just... I thought I'd never see him again. Never thought I'd see this universe again. And you..."

"Don't apologize, Miss Tyler," he told her gently, wishing he could do more to comfort her. "I am honored that anyone would ever miss me so much, no matter which of my faces they preferred. Now let's see if we can't find you a bed to rest in, shall we?

She nodded gratefully, and followed him again out into the corridor.

"Rose," he addressed her thoughtfully as they walked, "I just want to ask. If we can't do it, for some reason. If things go haywire, because I'm sure you know they sometimes do... can I help? If it's as terrible a thing as you say, I can even call up Romana and see what we can organize with the Time Lords. Even Gallifrey has limits on its non-interference policies. Braxiatel and the rest of those sniveling bureaucrats will no doubt have reservations, but Romana always does manage to convince them to act if she believes something is really imp-"

Her eyes shot up to meet his, as wide as saucers. She looked haunted and anxious at his words. "No, I don't think you can help," she said hastily. "There are some... events. Some... whad'ya call 'em... fixed points, between you and him, time-wise. Big ones. I don't know who Romana is, or how much power he or she has... but... yeah, I think it has to be him."

_How doesn't she know who Romana is? _he wondered, worried. _And why does she look so sad?_

She looked at him as if she could see the thoughts turning over in his head, and stopped abruptly in front of a door near the console room as he opened his mouth to speak.

"This should be fine," she said with a tight smile, cutting him off before he began. "Right, old girl?"

To the Doctor's surprise, the TARDIS hummed warmly, as if in agreement.

Rose pushed open the door, then inhaled sharply, raising a shaking hand to her mouth in wonder.

He hastily came to stand behind her, trying not to focus on her intoxicating scent as she reached back to grab his hand in hers. He looked in and saw a bedroom, reasonably unremarkable, with a deep pink bedspread and a plush gold rug on the floor.

"It's my room," she explained, turning to meet his eyes, clutching his fingers in hers as though it was the most natural thing in the world. He could feel the human heat of her skin radiating over the distance between them, even through all of the layers of clothes they both wore.

"But... how?" she asked him. "This... I haven't happened yet."

_Good Job, Old Girl,_ he thought warmly to the TARDIS. _Good Job._

Then, he looked down into Rose's soulful brown eyes, and said, "She's dimensionally transcendental, remember? That includes time. The TARDIS has always known you. She always will. And it appears that she's more than a little fond of you."

Rose smiled, the first genuine, pure smile he'd seen, and he found himself smiling back just as sincerely. Her joy was infectious.

"Yeah. Well. We've been through a lot, me and this TARDIS," Rose said, grinning up at him with her tongue teasing the edge of her top lip.

"Have you?" he asked, amused. "That's usually my line, Miss Tyler."

She took a step back from him towards the bedroom and he repressed the sudden, unexpected urge to pull her back towards him again.

"Good night, Rose Tyler," he said, placing his hands in his pockets to remind them to behave.

"Good night, Doctor," she said quietly. "And thank you. I know you weren't expecting this. I know you don't know me. And I know tomorrow, finding him, isn't going to be easy, even though you're trying to make me think it is. But I made it back. And you're still the Doctor. And that means anything is possible. And... and it's just really, really good to be home."

* * *

**A/N: In my ongoing love affair with the Eighth Doctor, the eventuality of Eight/Rose was probably inevitable. I love the idea of Rose encountering a Doctor unencumbered by the Time War. And it tickles me to think of Eight negotiating with a companion who knows more than he does. And as for the eventual sexy stuff... they paint a pretty delicious mental picture in my mind. I can't wait to share it with you. Thanks for reading! xxoo -OA**


	2. Chapter 2

Rose awoke feeling much, much better. A long night's sleep in her own bed had done her a world of good. Though she was still worried about the stars going out and she still desperately wanted to be reunited with her proper Doctor, she no longer felt like she was constantly about to panic or cry.

_I was afraid I'd never see this bed again, _she thought, taking a moment to revel in the feel of the sheets and blankets around you. _My bed_.

She was so, so close to her goal. She might even get to see him today... a possibility that motivated her to climb out of her warm sanctuary and face the morning.

The TARDIS had apparently done away with her clothes for the moment - hopefully to clean them - so she padded down the hallway barefoot, wearing pink and black yoga pants and the white tank top that she'd slept in the night before.

She entered the console room unnoticed, and took a moment to observe her host, this strange new version of the Doctor, who was deeply absorbed in some sort of calculations on a view screen.

He was tall, but not as tall as the Doctor she knew, and slightly more muscular, but only a bit. His wavy hair was messy from having had hands run through it too often, and he hummed to himself as he worked. This morning he wore a frock coat over his shirt and waistcoat. The effect made him look dashing, and a little bit eccentric.

Rose decided he looked like a young university professor, absentminded and completely unaware that half of his female students, and probably a few of the males as well, spent his lectures fantasizing about snogging him rather than taking notes.

_And would that be you, then?_ Her brain asked her. _Are you the lecherous student in this analogy?_

She tried to shake the thought off, but was only half successful. This was the Doctor, after all. She had loved him almost since she had met him, and he had taught her well that regenerating changed his face and, to some extent, his attitude, but not who he was at his core. It would feel strange to her if she wasn't drawn to him.

She found that she wanted to walk over to him and run her hands through his curls, to see how it felt, compared to the thick, wild shock of hair she knew so well. She wanted to lean against his back and hug him tight from behind, to see if this body of his was as strong and comforting as the one she dreamed of holding.

_But that wouldn't be right,_ she reminded herself. _He doesn't know you. He just met you. He's just doing what he always does - going out of his way to help a complete stranger just because it seems like the right thing to do._

She allowed herself more moment to study him, then made a noise in her throat to make him aware of her presence, and his head snapped up from his work.

"Ah! You're awake," he remarked, "and looking a fair sight better I think. You humans do love your sleep."

His blue eyes sparkled, and she found herself marveling over the happiness and energy he seemed to radiate.

"Well, I've got everything set up, I believe," The Doctor told her brightly, "but it's going to take a few hours for all of the logarithms to finish computing. I'm not really supposed to be out looking for other versions of myself, you see. It confuses the TARDIS, so the calculations are a bit tricky."

"Got it," Rose said. That made sense. Or at least as much sense as anything else the Doctor ever said.

"So, now we sit and wait," she said, nodding her head soberly, just to mess with him. She knew sitting and waiting positively made his skin crawl.

Some things never changed. No matter which body he was wearing, the Doctor couldn't stand waiting... and this one didn't realize she was teasing him. She stifled a grin at the distressed face he made.

"Indeed," he told her dutifully, glancing nervously at the figures on the screen, then started talking a mile a minute, explaining, "but since the TARDIS can do its computing basically anywhere, we don't strictly need to be here _in this room_ while we wait, so I was thinking that perhaps we might pop off and visit a friend I made over in Nepal about 200 years ago. There's this absolutely charming little restaurant in the foothills of the Himalayas where I once had tea with the Dalai Lama. Something tells me it's right up your alley, you know. You seem like the type of girl who - "

Rose snickered, raising her hands hand to cut off the seemingly endless stream of words.

"You were baiting me," he accused, slightly incredulous.

"Might have been," she confessed, smiling smugly.

He looked like he wasn't sure whether to be offended or charmed. Rose was delighted to have the upper hand. She could get used to this - he was cute when he was flustered.

"Look," she told him, taking a step forward and staring up into his soulful blue eyes. "I'll make you a deal. We can go sightseeing anywhere you like. Anywhere in the universe. I know you can't sit still to save your own life, and I can't tell you how much I've missed traveling with the D- I mean, with _you,_ in the TARDIS. But sightseeing only, understand? We _have_ to stay out of trouble. I can't afford to be distracted or sidetracked by overthrowing some sort of alien dictator, or get killed by Daleks before I've even gotten back to when and where I'm supposed to be. Got it? No. Trouble."

"No trouble," he repeated back, holding his hand up as if making a solemn vow, though his eyes were glittering with possibilities, and his smile full of mischief.

"I mean it," she said, trying to keep her voice serious, and failing because his grin was infectious. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to slap him or kiss him, figured it was probably a little of both. Did he have to keep looking at her like that?

"No trouble. Cross my hearts," he promised, leaning down to whisper the words softly in her ear.

The heat of his breath against her neck sent a shiver down her spine.

_Is he flirting with me?_

Rose fought down the urge to call his bluff by turning her head and kissing him. Flirting or no, this man was a stranger to her. He wasn't her Doctor. Not yet. And there was no way he could realize how much his flirting would mean to her. So she took a deep breath, trying to ignore the delicious way he smelled standing so close to her, and let it out slowly before stepping back and flashing him her most brilliant smile.

"Well then, let's go!" she said, skipping ahead of him to the TARDIS console. "Where to? Wait, don't tell me. Let me guess... the Glasmir mountains of scenic Apalapucia. Or maybe Elbyon, on the famed, shadow isles of Avalon, with landscapes straight out of a storybook?"

Rose twirled around to meet his eyes to find him looking at her with a mystified expression. _It must seem strange to him_, she thought, _to have a strange girl from Earth spouting his own words and memories back at him like this._

"Come on now," she teased him, "it can't surprise you that much, that I might listen when you talk to me!"

"There is, I suppose, a first time for everything," he joked, smiling thoughtfully. "What about... the effervescent oceans of Florana? Would you fancy a swim?"

Rose thought she'd very much fancy the chance to see this Doctor without a shirt, but she kept that thought to herself.

"Perfect," she told him. "I'll go find my towel."

* * *

**_Four Hours Later..._**

"Faster!" he urged, dragging Rose behind him by one hand as she struggled to keep pace with him. Couldn't things ever go according to plan? They were almost there...

"Ah! We made it!" he shouted victoriously as they stumbled into the TARDIS, slamming the door with a sense of finality.

"Barely!" Rose scolded him through gasping breaths, wringing out her hair and dropping wet leaves all over the floor of the console room. "I said 'no trouble!' So I would just like to know, if that wasn't trouble, what the hell is? Wait, don't answer that."

"This is _not_ my fault," he replied, feeling slightly defensive but mostly amused, stripping off his wet coat and cravat, and shaking the water out of his own hair. "How was I to know it was the harvest festival during a bronze age? I thought we were landing centuries later - after their industrial revolution. Anyone could have made that mistake, I'll have you know; the coordinates are only two digits off. And I got us out of there, did I not? If you have a better suggestion for evading the attentions of six hundred superstitious farmers under the influence of one of the most powerful hallucinogens this side of Metebelis 3, I'm all ears. Besides, you were the one who kept drawing attention to us."

"They were going to sacrifice her!" Rose retorted, walking up to him and shaking a finger in his face. "If you think I was just going to sit by and twiddle my thumbs and watch a human sacrifice... or a... Floranian sacrifice, or whatever you call it... you obviously don't know me very well."

"Well, obviously I don't!" he shot back cheekily, entertained by her fierce spirit. "I only met you last night, after all."

He moved her finger out of his face with the back of his hand and smiled down at her calmly. She knew as well as he did that he would never have let that girl die on the altar, though he probably would have come up with a slightly more surreptitious way of preventing it, had she only given him five minutes to think.

Rose glared at him for a split second longer before dissolving into laughter, bracing herself on the console for support. The Doctor joined in laughing as watched her, completely soaked through in her bikini top and denim shorts, wet hair and face flushed from running.

_She's absolutely beautiful, _he thought. _And fearless. Being with her is positively exhilarating. She handled herself well out there - it's no wonder that I pick her, in the future... What a shame, that I have to give her up now._

It was a disconcerting feeling, to be jealous of oneself.

"God, I missed this," Rose said as she regained her composure. "It's been ages since the last time I found myself running for my life back to the TARDIS."

"It shows," he taunted her, raising an eyebrow in mock judgement. "Looked to me like you were having a spot of trouble keeping up back there. Perhaps you're not as young as you once were, hm?"

"Oi!" she shouted, punching him in the arm. "Like you're some spring chicken. Exactly how many centuries old are you right now?"

She went to swat at him again, and he caught her hand in mid-air.

"Humans," he lamented, shaking his head in mock sadness. "Tsk, tsk... So violent..."

"Oh yeah? I'll show you violent," she teased back, stepping into his personal space and going to pinch him.

He grabbed her other wrist as he stepped sideways to avoid the attack, and suddenly found himself standing over Rose, who was backed up against the TARDIS console, gripping one of her arms firmly in each of his hands, staring down into her laughing eyes as he breathed in her intoxicatingly exotic scent. He suddenly found himself acutely aware of her beach attire, comprised more of strings and knots than actual fabric, and focused on the creamy expanses of skin left exposed by her bathing suit top. To his shock, he felt himself becoming aroused.

It was not the first time, of course. He'd always been more prone to certain urges than the typical Time Lord, and even more in this incarnation than in the past, but it was still extremely rare.

_And she's just a human, _he thought to himself, confused at his body's reaction. _That's even rarer. Not to mention you hardly know her. _

Rose was making no move to pull away. She stood perfectly still, staring up at him with her lips slightly parted. He could feel her pulse increasing as she stood there, anticipating his next move. She trusted him absolutely. And she wanted him. Her eyes held a dare... or a plea.

_You don't know her, _he realized, _but she knows you. It's obvious she's in love with you - some version of you, at least. And she smells so good, so familiar. You're reacting to that, Time Lord... to her smell. To that tingling in your seventh and eighth senses. It's as though she smells like..._

"Time," he whispered. "How?"

"Time for what?" she breathed, not breaking his gaze.

"You... you smell like Time. Like the Vortex," he said, and released her wrists.

The spell of the moment was broken, and Rose stepped back from him with a shuttered gaze, all traces of the trust and openness from a moment before completely vanished.

"Do I?" she asked cautiously. This revelation had not surprised her.

"What are you?" he asked softly, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Just Rose," she replied stepping back farther, as though retreating from his prying gaze. "Plain old human Rose."

"Then... how?" he asked again.

"You know I can't tell you," she responded sadly. "I wish I could, but I really can't."

He nodded his understanding. It had something to do with him, then. That much was obvious. Who was this human woman to become in his life?

For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other. Then, the computer on the TARDIS console beeped a shrill alarm, signifying that his calculations to track down his future self had been completed.

"I should go tend to that," he whispered, clearing his throat.

She nodded, and looked more than a little relieved.

"I think I'll go dry off," she said, nodding towards the door. "You should too, yeah? Don't forget to change out of those wet clothes."

He smiled as he turned around to shut off the noise. Her concern was touching. She knew him so well.

"I won't," he told her. "Why don't you meet me back here in thirty minutes?"

"Fantastic," she said. Then she started to step away, but stopped suddenly, walking back towards him and taking him by the shoulders. Rolling up onto the balls of her feet, she kissed him softly on the lips.

"Thank you, Doctor," she told him, and he was suffused with warmth to hear her call him 'Doctor,' as though she could really see the man she knew, when she looked at him.

"Anytime, Rose Tyler," he replied, utterly sincere.

He found himself smiling long after she left the room.

_Doctor, old chap, _he thought to himself, y_ou're in a lot of trouble._

* * *

**A/N: Holy cow, thank you, readers! I didn't expect this story to get such a warm reception... and I'm overjoyed to be wrong. Thank you for your reviews and follows and kind words. They make me smile, and they really are wonderfully motivating. Hope you enjoyed this chapter... xxo - O.A.**


	3. Chapter 3

Rose beat a quick retreat from the console room, happy to return to the safety and comfort of her bedroom.

_Well isn't this just inconvenient, _she thought crossly at the girlish fluttering in her stomach. _You can't go falling for him when you're not even supposed to be here._

She wanted him, though, paradoxes be damned. He wanted her too. She could tell. And the really insane thing is that it almost seemed like he was okay with it, not shying away awkwardly like his other selves had always done.

_What must it be like,_ she wondered as she changed back into her regular clothes, which the TARDIS had returned to her, clean and pressed, _to have feelings for and to travel with a Doctor who isn't afraid of his emotions? _

She knew she'd love to find out.

_It's probably better for both of us that I'm about to leave._

She felt an unexpected pang of sadness at that. It seemed a shame to leave him so soon. This version of the Doctor was so different than the others she had known. This is what he was like before the Time War, without that enormous burden on his shoulders... without all of that guilt. It was simply beautiful to see.

Still, there was nothing to be done for it. She had to get back to _her_ Doctor, her proper Doctor, before all the stars went out. The man she'd left in the console room still had years to live before he'd meet her in the right place, at the right time, in the basement of Henrik's... and she wouldn't want to change that meeting for anything.

She smiled to herself as she thought of that first wild day, running through London with an uncannily enigmatic stranger. And she thought of all of the adventures they had shared since... and one heartbreaking road trip to Dårlig Ulv Stranden. No. She had to go. She _wanted _to go. There was another Doctor out there, to whom she'd promised 'forever,' and she could not wait to see his face again.

By the time the allocated thirty minutes had passed, Rose was pacing around the console room, agitated and trying to calm her nerves.

The Doctor himself was taciturn, almost brooding, as he entered, and immediately started flipping levers and pushing buttons. Neither one of them looked the other in the eye for a few moments. It seemed she wasn't the only one who didn't like the idea of her leaving this time and place.

The Doctor flipped a final switch and sighed heavily. The TARDIS dematerialized smoothly into the vortex.

Rose approached him where he stood, staring down at his hands on the console.

"Thanks for the lift," she told him, covering his hand with her own.

He looked up and smiled at her, but it didn't make it all the way to his eyes.

"It's not too late to change course, you know," he said wryly. "There are so many adventures we could have... I could show you the singing fish of Karas don Kazra don Slava..."

Rose squeezed the hand she was holding and smiled back at him a little wistfully. Both of them knew that neither of them could ignore the fact that Rose still had a universe to save. But it was a beautiful thought

"We're here," he said unnecessarily as the TARDIS finished materializing. "Well, about quarter of a mile away; I didn't want to confuse him with the sound of our materialization. But I should be able to get an image on this screen from the CCTV nearby..." He typed furiously for a few seconds, "And there I am!"

Then, looking closer at the monitor, remarked, "Good lord, is my future as grumpy as all that?" he wondered aloud. "That sour puss is what I have to look forward to?"

Rose was unprepared for what she saw on the view screen. Gripping the edge of the console, she swallowed hard, and stared wide-eyed at the image in front of her. This hadn't even occurred to her as a possibility - it was like looking at a ghost. Her spirits leaped, then quickly fell again. Several emotions seized her all at once, including elation, confusion, and grief.

Yes, it was the Doctor, but instead of pinstripes and thick, unruly hair, he wore black leather, and a pair of icy blue eyes stared out of his angular face. This was a Doctor she never thought she'd see again- the man who had first whisked her away and shown her the stars. She wished she could go to him, even just to spend a few moments, but she knew it was impossible. Either this Doctor hadn't even met her yet, or there was another Rose waiting for him in his TARDIS. She didn't dare cross her own timeline that brazenly.

But she missed him so much... and he was right there, just a quarter of a mile away. Yet again, she felt a lump forming in the back of her throat.

"Are you okay, Rose?" asked the Doctor who was standing next to her, concerned. He reached out to cover her white-knuckled hand with his own.

"Yeah," she whispered, looking up at him with brows knit together and bright eyes, determined not to cry after her breakdown the night before. "I'm okay. But I can't go with him," she gestured at the screen. "We're too early. Chances are he doesn't know me any more than you did yesterday."

"Are you sure?" The Doctor asked.

"Uh... yeah. Positive. If he knows me, I'm with him right now. Because I was there when... at the end... I watched him..."

"Regenerate?" he guessed. Rose nodded. Comprehension crossed the Doctor's face as he seemed to realize the cause of Rose's turbulent emotions.

"I know you're all the same man," she went on. "You and him and all the others. And the new him is wonderful - the one we're looking for. But when it happened... I didn't know what was going on. He barely had time to explain anything. It felt an awful lot like he was dying... like I lost him forever. And sometimes I miss him so much..."

The Doctor's face softened and he pulled her into his arms. She relaxed against him and rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in the comforting, calming scent of his throat as his hands stroked the tense muscles of her back, softly.

"I'm okay," she said softly, making no move to lift her head from his shoulder.

"I know," he said, making no move to let her go.

"I just wasn't expecting that," she said. "Seeing him. Wouldn't have thought it'd make me feel so emotional, either."

"Regeneration is a funny thing," he mused. "It does feel an awful lot like dying. And change is often scary, or jarring. I would be more surprised if you felt nothing, looking into the past like that."

He squeezed her tight for one more moment, then pulled back and held her by the shoulders, looking down into her eyes.

"I believe what we need now, Miss Tyler, is a hot cup of tea."

They walked to the kitchen hand in hand.

* * *

"I'm trying to figure a way to narrow my search criteria so that the TARDIS will find only the Doctor you need," he told her as he pulled a selection of tea leaves out of the cabinet and set them on the table in front of her. "But it's a bit complicated since the TARDIS recognizes me by qualities that don't change from one body to the next. Is there anything else you can tell me that might be helpful?"

"What, you can't just search for 'great hair'?" she teased, noticing that the Doctor had remembered which mug she'd used yesterday - her favorite - and had set it out for her again. The gesture made her feel warm inside.

He scoffed at her, feigning great offense at her remark.

"I will have you know, young lady, I often have great hair. That wouldn't narrow things down one bit! I mean, just what do you call this?" He tossed his hair dramatically as though in a shampoo advertisement, causing Rose to have a fit of giggles. He smirked back at her.

"Not bad," she said diplomatically, once she'd calmed herself. Her fingers itched to reach out and touch it, to rake her nails over his scalp.

_Control yourself, _she thought fiercely.

"Not bad, she tells me," he muttered under his breath. "This is absolutely amazing hair, I will have you know. It's at least a damn sight better than old grumpy's, on the monitor back there. I can't believe you went traveling with a bloke like - wait that's it!" He exclaimed suddenly, interrupting himself. He leaped up from the table, pacing in a quick circle before coming to stand back where he began, beaming delightedly, hands outstretched as if in offering.

"What's what?" Rose asked excitedly, taking the sudden mood swing in stride.

"He's not alone, is he? The me you're looking for? Of course he isn't. I always hate to travel alone. I'm sure he'd have someone else there."

"No," she agreed, catching on. She stood up and walked around to stand next to him as she spoke. "He isn't alone. He's with a woman named Donna Noble, from Chiswick."

"Donna Noble from Chiswick!" He shouted it like a victory cry. "Thank you, Rose Tyler. I just knew you'd know. And now I think I've got it. The TARDIS will know who she is, just as she knew you yesterday. If I include her in my search parameters, it should do the trick - eliminate all of the uncertainty about when we'll find me!"

The delight on his face at having solved the problem was contagious. Rose laughed, taking his outstretched hand as they bolted for the control room, their tea completely forgotten.

The Doctor's fingers flew over the controls of the console, and he spoke to her as he went along in his preparations.

"It will take some more time," he explained, speaking almost as fast as his hands were moving, "for the TARDIS to assimilate the new information. But not quite as long as before, since I've got all of the equipment set up properly already. We'll let her work this evening, and first thing tomorrow you should be sorted out, right as rain."

_So soon? _Rose squashed the thought down, refusing to feel sad. She was going home. To _her _Doctor, in _her _universe. Things would finally be right again. She only wished she could stop feeling so conflicted.

"Tomorrow it is, then," she said confidently, trying to let none of her ambivalence show in her voice.

She found herself staring at the view screen as he worked, watching the other version of him walk through the streets of what seemed like Madrid, a lifetime away from the man next to her now, and the man she would see again tomorrow.

_Even when I'm with the Doctor, I miss him, _she thought. _How is that even fair?_

Having finished with all of his button-pushing and lever-flipping for the time being, the Doctor came to stand beside her. Rose reached out reflexively, and he took his hand in hers as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

_Because it is._

"I can't understand why you decided to go traveling with me, if I looked as grim as all that," he said, amused, squeezing her fingers and gesturing to the screen with his eyebrows. "There must be something wrong with your brain, Rose Tyler. That Doctor seems like a miserable old grump!"

"You were, a bit, yeah," she agreed, grinning at him. "Or you will be, rather. Wouldn't even take me dancing."

"I don't believe it," he said, shaking his head in haughty disapproval. "I love dancing! And I can't imagine any scenario in any of my lives where I wouldn't want to dance with you."

She turned to face him and he looked away suddenly, and she realized he hadn't meant to say that last bit aloud. She felt a flutter in her belly.

"Believe it," she insisted, poking him in the chest to accentuate her point. "It was like pulling teeth."

"Let me make it up to you?" he asked, in a much quieter voice, turning back towards her and squeezing her fingers gently.

"Yes," she replied, and looked up into his eyes, daring him not to back down.

He didn't.

He dropped her hand and ran around the console to flip a switch. A spirited waltz began to play. Then he returned to her side and bowed extravagantly, extending a hand towards her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a gallant flourish.

Charmed, Rose offered him her hand, which he kissed once again, letting his lips linger somewhat longer than they had yesterday. He looked up into her eyes as he did it, and the look she saw there made her blush. And then he pulled her into his arms.

She felt energized by the lively pace and excited by his nearness. He was indeed a strong dancer, and his lead was easy for her to follow. She laughed from the joy of the moment as he whisked her expertly around the console room.

"You know," he told her, "I first learned the waltz on a space station, in the 47th century, but I must say I didn't perfect it until years later in Vienna, sometime in the 1860's. Waltzing was all the rage, then, it was hard not to get caught up in it. Charming fellow, Strauss, and what a fantastic beard he had! Always loved a good laugh..."

She listened to him chatter on for a few moments longer, content to twirl in his arms and commit every detail of the moment to memory: the feel of the velvet coat under her fingers, the sound of his voice, the pressure of his hand against the small of her back, the delicious scent of his skin. After years of working for Torchwood, struggling with the dimension cannon, watching the universe end around her, never resting and always pushing forward, forward, forward... this was the happiest and most relaxed she could remember feeling in recent memory.

The waltz came to an end, and they stilled, but the Doctor made no move to let her go. Rose wanted to wrap herself around him and never move again from that spot. His blue eyes sparkled as they gazed down at her.

_He is so beautiful, _she thought to herself, drinking in the sight of him. _So kind and silly and happy and wonderful. _

His cheeks were flushed pink, and the way he was smiling at her made her heart pound from more than just their exertions. The thought of leaving him in just a few short hours made her ache, but she knew there was nothing they could do. The longer she stayed the more at risk she put his timeline, and she had to get to her Doctor in time to save the stars.

And so she stood in the warm circle of this Doctor's arms and tried to be grateful that she'd gotten the chance to know him at all, this wonderful version of the man she loved, even if it was on borrowed time. Rose thought she had never felt so happy and sad all at once.

As if picking up on her mood, the TARDIS began to play a slow, soulful, blues piece, beautiful and bittersweet.

Still smiling down at her, the Doctor relaxed the frame of his upper body, pulling Rose into a closer, softer embrace. His nearness and the intimacy of his touch caused a spark of desire to ignite deep within her belly. She sighed in pleasure and relaxed against him.

"Dancing to the blues," he murmured close to her ear, "is all about surrendering yourself to the music, and letting it move you."

She shivered at the feeling of his breath against her neck, and closed her eyes as he began to move. Once again she followed his lead, feeling the mournful beauty of the music wash over her, relishing the feeling of the Doctor's body pressed so close to hers. Heat pooled at her core and Rose found herself lost in the sensuality of the music, languid and aroused as she let him guide her. They moved as one, Rose following seamlessly as he led her through the peaks and valleys of the sad, sultry piece.

He spun her in a lazy circle, then pulled her close, slowing his movements. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and her entire body tingled with anticipation.

"Rose," the Doctor murmured, touching his forehead to hers, coming to stand still in the center of the room with his arms around her, "I will get you back to me. To the right me. But please. Between now and then... Know that I'm here, if you need me." He pulled her even closer into his arms.

"I always need you," she whispered. She tilted her head up and her nose grazed against his.

They stood frozen for a few long seconds, each of them paralyzed by of all of the dozens of reasons they shouldn't do this. She could feel his breath against her lips.

Then he started to relax his hold on her.

"No," she breathed. Impulsively, she grabbed him by the lapels and closed the distance between them, pulling him into a desperate kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Hi there, folks. Hope you're enjoying it... I know this is a cruel place to end a chapter, but it was either that or wait several more days for an update. Once again, thank you for all of the reviews, follows, and feedback. It always makes me smile. xxoo - O.A.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello there, readers. Thanks for making it this far! I hope you're enjoying it... This chapter has earned its M rating, so if you're easily scandalized, turn back now. You will also find one mild (not related to the main plot) spoiler for the BBC Doctor Who New Adventures novel ****_The Dying Days_****, by Lance Parkin. Anyway... happy reading!**

* * *

Her kiss felt like an electric shock.

The Doctor's body responded instantly, the inexplicable attraction he felt for Rose sparking into desire at the hot touch of her lips. He could feel her heart beating faster, and not just from the dancing. For a moment he lost himself, aware of nothing but the warmth and softness of her skin. His heart rate was increasing too, and his mind, for once, was not racing, but rather basking in the sweet simplicity of the moment.

_Yes,_ he thought, _yes._

It felt right to kiss her. This is what he'd been wanting since he met her, and the taste of her lips both slaked his desire and stoked it. Lightheaded, he surrendered himself to the sensation, shoving all fear of paradox aside and forgetting, just for a moment, that there was a universe waiting to be saved.

It was too much and not enough at once: he found he was almost overwhelmed by her nearness, yet all he could think of was getting closer. Shocked at himself, he realized he wanted to see her naked underneath him, wanted to memorize every silky plane of her skin, kiss every part of her, this tantalizing creature who had stumbled into his TARDIS smelling like time and shrouded in secrets. He wanted to claim her, like a primitive- like an animal. The thought terrified him, but that didn't stop him from wanting it.

Rose's hands slipped up into his hair, pulling him down towards her to deepen the kiss. He let her, parting his lips to allow entrance to her tongue- the cheeky, insolent tongue that teased him every time she smiled. He caressed it gently with his own, and shivered at the feeling.

As her hands ran through his curls and raked over his scalp, his own slipped under the hem of her shirt, and she moaned as he ran his fingertips over her hot, human skin.

_How is she only human?_ He wondered. She seemed maddeningly exotic, completely unique in the universe.

Rose pushed his coat back off of his shoulders and he let it fall on the floor behind him as she began to work on his cravat and waistcoat. She tossed them to the ground as well, while he kissed and nipped at her lips, ears, neck. Slowly he drew down the zipper of her jacket, looking into her dark brown eyes as though asking permission. She grinned at him mischievously and shrugged it off, then wrapped her arms around his neck as she reached up to kiss the hollow of his throat. Her body deliciously warm through the thin fabric of his shirt.

"Rose..." He groaned as she led him the short distance to a divan the TARDIS had crafted in the style of his favorite reading chair. This was all moving so fast; he needed to slow down and think.

He felt his body growing impossibly aroused as she guided him to sit, then crawled onto him to straddle his lap- certainly far more aroused than a Time Lord ought to be. His eagerness made him feel like a stranger in his own body, like an adolescent in his first regeneration. What was this woman doing to him?

It wasn't that he was ignorant about copulation - he'd spent several years of his youth exploring and experimenting with sex and dozens of other activities he was explicitly instructed to avoid, especially when he was off-world away from Gallifrey and the scrutinizing eyes of his tutors. His earliest impressions had been that it was amusing and exhilarating, despite being a bit messy and ridiculous.

There had been a few trysts since those days as well, even in this relatively new incarnation. He spared a quick, fond thought for Benny - audacious, brilliant, delightfully blunt Benny - and a whirlwind of a night he'd shared with her, full of laughter and discovering. She'd tumbled him into her bed after a few glasses of champagne, and he'd been pleased to let her do it. Sex with Benny had been fun, a lighthearted diversion to see how it would feel in this new body to act on baser instincts nearly forgotten by his entire race.

No experience in his memory, however, even began to compare to this, the urgent sense of need that came over him when Rose pressed herself against him. His hands came to rest on her hips, and he had to restrain himself from pulling her pelvis hard against his, an animalistic impulse he'd never experienced before. He felt like he was drowning in her intoxicating scent.

"Rose," he murmured again, tilting his head back to look up into her lust-drunk gaze. "You know we sh-"

She cut him off with a fierce kiss.

"I know." Her full mouth was swollen and her hair was in disarray. "But right this second, I don't care. Do you?"

As if to punctuate her point, she rolled her hips, grinding softly down into him. The sudden pressure against his aroused flesh made him gasp.

"I should care," he replied in a hoarse whisper.

"That's not what I asked."

"Our timelines-"

"Will be no more screwed up if we do this than they already are."

She was right. Most likely, anyway.

"I'm not human, Rose," he went on to say, his voice rough as she nipped along his neck and collarbone with her teeth. "You know Time Lords are different..."

"I am aware of that," she whispered in his ear, then grazed her hand over his erection through his trousers, making him gasp in pleasure. "Maybe you should have a word with yourself, though. It feels like you could use a reminder."

She stripped off her top, then took his hands from her hips and moved them to her lace covered breasts, arching her back, pushing forward into his palms and down onto his hips with the same motion. Despite himself he groaned. She met his eyes and licked her lips.

"Doctor, if those years trapped in a parallel world have taught me anything, it's that anything and everything you love can be taken away from you like that."

She snapped her fingers.

"You can lose everything in a split second, so you have to appreciate the good things when you have them."

She unbuttoned his shirt as she spoke, and unhooked her own bra, tossing it aside carelessly as she stared down into his eyes.

"I've wanted you for so long Doctor," she confessed quietly, her voice losing some of its bravado.

"Another me," he murmured wistfully, allowing his eyes to wander over her bare torso, gliding a hand along the curve of her hip, the soft swell of her breast. He wanted her, yes. But he didn't particularly want to be a placeholder for a man he had not yet become.

"Doesn't matter. You're still him. He's still you," she reminded him, assuaging some of his doubt, then leaned forward to kiss the hollow of his throat, allowing her breasts to brush against his chest, naked skin to naked skin.

She sighed in pleasure at the contact, then pulled back to meet his eyes. He looked at her pleadingly, wishing for a single moment of clear thought to help him decide what he should do.

She moved off of him with reluctance, as though sensing what he needed, and sat beside him to give him space as she spoke.

"I know that you just met me," she whispered, leaning over to brush her lips gently against his ear once, twice. "So if you tell me to go, I will stop. I will leave you alone, and we don't need to mention this again. But I promise you, you will know me so well in the future that I can't imagine life without you. And I miss you so much, all the time, that it hurts me to breathe when I think of you. I want to share this with you. I know you're a Time Lord, and this connection isn't as important for you as it is for me. And I know I could get in a world of trouble over it, if something I do screws up our timelines. But Doctor... if I let you walk out of my life again without doing this I am absolutely certain I will regret it as long as I live."

She placed a hand on the side of his face to turn his head towards her, and looked into his eyes, imploring.

"One night," she begged. "Can't we just forget about the rest of the universe for one bloody night? It's not enough, but it's all I have. Please."

The look on her face was so sincere, so full of love and trust and profound sadness, it sent an unexpected jolt of emotions coursing through him: fierce protectiveness and an intense sense of affection that cut through the haze of lust in his mind. And at that exact moment he knew for certain that he couldn't possibly send her away.

"Oh, Rose."

He stood up and pulled her to her feet, taking both of her hands in his. She watched him carefully, suddenly unsure of what to do, searching his face for cues.

He could smell the individual scents on her body: the salty sheen of her perspiration as it mingled with the heady smell of her desire, the light perfume of her shampoo, and the unmistakable scent and feeling of time as it clung to every cell of her. He would not back down, even though he should. He would not step away. And if he was going to so this thing, he was going to do it right.

Taking a deep breath he drank in her hot, human pheremones and surrendered himself to the most feral, primitive part of his brain. And then his world shrank down to the size of a pin - nothing existed except for him and the woman in front of him: Rose, who wanted him; Rose, whom he was going to claim for his own.

Letting his lust wash over him, he took her hips almost hard enough to bruise her, and pulled her body against his. He could feel her bare nipples contract as they touched his chest, could see her eyes widen and darken as she felt how achingly hard he was as he held her against him.

"You're right," he confessed, speaking low, right next to her ear, "I do want you... and I want to tell you that I can smell how much you want me, how wet you are right now. It's maddeningly distracting - I can barely think of anything except how much I want to touch you, taste you, bury myself inside you until you barely even know your own name.."

Her eyes darkened again with heat and desire as he spoke, but she didn't move a muscle.

He slid his hands up to rest on her waist and leaned forward, taking first one breast and then the other in his mouth, biting softly at the nipples, dragging his fingernails gently over her flesh as her hands flew up to tangle in his hair. Touching her was so satisfying, so intoxicating. Now that he had granted permission to his base instincts they threatened to overwhelm his reason. He felt like a madman, powerless to his lust.

He fell to his knees in front of her. She gasped when he reached up to stroke her smooth, velvety breasts with their dark pink nipples tightened into achingly hard little points, pinching them hard. He planted a soft kiss right above her navel.

Her skin was so soft. He wanted to kiss it, stroke it, caress it... mark it, claim her. The smell of her pheromones made his cock even harder, engorged almost to the point of pain in the prison of his trousers. He had to taste her, had to touch her and know how wet she was, how swollen and tight she was... for him.

Still kneeling, he unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, then hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her panties and pulled down, leaving her naked in front of him. He clenched her hips firmly enough to make her gasp again, then leaned forward on his knees to lovingly kiss her vulva, flicking his tongue out to graze her clitoris as he did. She cried out and a fresh wave of dampness covered her thighs. She was so sensitive, he thought, so responsive.

He stood, raking his fingers over her ass and up her back as he did, leaning in to kiss her deeply with the salty, earthy taste of her arousal still on his lips. She moaned into his mouth and strained towards him, craving contact.

"Doctor!" She cried out, shivering as he gathered her again into his arms.

"If we are going to do this," he murmured against her ear as she whimpered, "let's do it properly. Shall we go somewhere more comfortable?"

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was getting really, really long, and I know it's been a while since I updated, so I decided to do it in two parts. Again, I know this is a bit of an agonizing cliffhanger, but I thought it would be nicer to update now than to wait until I finished the entire thing... **

**The mention of Benny (Bernice Summerfield) is a reference to a scene in an actual BBC Doctor Who New Adventures novel, ****_The Dying Days_**** by Lance Parkin. You may think I'm reading too much into the scene... but here. Have the text and judge for yourself.**

_'I had better go,' the Doctor said quietly, when he had finished his champagne.  
Benny hesitated, looking into those deep blue eyes of his. 'Yes. Look, before you leave, there's one thing I have to do. I'd never forgive myself otherwise.'  
The Doctor looked puzzled. 'What would that - '  
She grabbed the lapels of his frock coat, kissed him square on the mouth and pushed him down hard onto the bed._

**Thank you all for your reviews and follows. Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you! xo -OA**


	5. Chapter 5

Rose couldn't believe how quickly things had escalated.

It appeared that once the Doctor had made his decision, once he stopped resisting the heated attraction between them, a switch had been flipped in his mind. No longer passive, no longer hesitant, he now seemed intent on claiming her body with the same utterly focused passion that he typically devoted to saving innocent lives. She had spent many nights imagining what it would be like to be the object of that passion, the center of that focus. The reality did not disappoint.

The door to her room had barely closed when he grabbed her around the waist, taking her chin in one hand and kissing her deeply, nipping softly at her lips until she opened them, teasing her tongue with his. He pulled her body against him, letting her feel how hard he was, how badly he wanted her, before guiding her to sit on the edge of the bed, kissing her fast and hard and giving her a conspiratorial smile.

Once he had her seated he stepped back and slowly, agonizingly slowly, removed what remained of his clothing.

In the dim lamplight of her bedroom he was a painter's dream, with lean muscles that curved and rippled sensuously as he moved, catching shadows on smooth skin that looked so soft Rose's fingers itched to touch him. She didn't, though. She knew he wanted her to stay where he had put her, and she didn't dare to risk breaking the spell of this moment for anything, so she clenched the bedspread in her hands to hold them still.

Her mouth watered as she drank in the sight of his naked body. Her eyes were drawn irresistibly down the planes of his chest and abdomen, hungrily taking in the sight of his gorgeous cock, swollen and flushed darker than the rest of his skin, achingly erect as he walked slowly towards her.

Rose wanted nothing more than to taste him, to fall to her knees and lick away the drop of pre-cum that glistened at its tip, to take the whole length of him in her mouth and make him moan her name, but it appeared the Doctor had other ideas.

Clothes discarded, he knelt in front of her again, and placed the softest of kisses on her inner thighs before raising his hand to run a finger gently along the length of her slit.

"Human women," he murmured, breathing in the smell of her, "have the most brilliantly intoxicating pheromones."

Then he began to plant soft tender kisses along her folds, barely tasting, moaning softly in pleasure as he did so. The moaning and his warm breath against her skin caused Rose to start whimpering.

"I shouldn't want you," he went on to say. "Most Gallifreyans don't even like sex. Did you know? I'm sure you know that. Sexual desire was all but entirely bred out of the Time Lords eons ago. But these pheromones of yours... They're simply amazing. They tap into parts of my brain that should have been long extinct. And when I can smell you like this, when I can taste you..."

He kissed her pussy again, letting his tongue dip just for a second inside of her. She gasped as her body responded with a fresh wave of moisture, and he smiled darkly at her.

"When I taste you," he purred, "I grow so hard it takes my breath away from me, and all I can think about is how incredible it would feel to bury my cock inside of your hot human body, to take you, to fuck you until you're screaming for release, to feel your orgasm from inside you, feel your muscles clenching around me, again and again, until we are both left weak and sweaty and panting like primitive animals."

The sound of those filthy words coming out of the Doctor's mouth, especially this version of him with that velvety baritone voice, sent a spike of arousal through Rose so intense it took her breath away. Her thighs were soaked, the Doctor's fingers slick with her juices, and when he leaned down to taste her again, so softly, she choked back a moan of frustration.

"Want to touch you," she begged, clenching her fists harder in the bedding.

"Yes, darling creature, I know," he purred. "But if I let you do that now I won't last. You've got me too worked up. And I want this to last, Rose. I want to savor every single moment. So before you touch me, darling, I want to see exactly how beautiful you are when you cum."

With that, he plunged two clever fingers inside of her and out again, a steady rhythm a bit too slow for Rose's tastes, but deep, and trailed featherlike kisses along her labia, slowing to kiss the swollen bud at the apex of her slit and slowly caress it with his tongue.

Rose cried out, lying back on the bed and parting her legs farther. She was so close already, she felt like she was going mad. She writhed against his hand, desperate for more contact, faster movements.

"So gorgeous," he murmured, almost lazily. "And you really do taste absolutely amazing."

Then he bent his head once again to her sex, gliding his tongue along the length of it, paying special care to the swollen ball of nerves at its apex. His two clever fingers moved inside of her again, twisting and curling and driving her mad.

It was not long at all before Rose felt her orgasm approaching, building with a slow, intense pressure that made her cry out and arch up into his mouth.

"Doctor!" she gasped, tangling one hand in his hair as the other clawed furiously at the bedding.

She was panting, squirming, groaning.

"Tell me what you need, Rose." he murmured, looking up at her, his blue eyes almost black with desire.

"You. More of you. Just... you," she gasped.

"Mmmm," he hummed his approval as his lips once again found the sensitive bud of her clitoris, sucking gently as he added a third finger when he next thrust into her soaking core.

Gasping, Rose felt her muscles spasm around his fingers as her orgasm overtook her. She cried out his name as she came apart, shuddering, awash in a kaleidoscope of sensation.

He came up onto the bed, smiling. He kissed her, long and languid. She could taste herself on his swollen lips.

"That was amazing," she told him once she remembered how to speak.

"It was, wasn't it?" He replied with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Oi. I see modesty isn't your strong suit in this incarnation either."

He shrugged and grinned at her.

"No point in faking it. You have to admit for someone who doesn't engage in sex particularly often I'm rather desperately clever."

He batted his eyes at her.

"Well then," she said, smiling mischievously as she leaned up to give him a long kiss and catch his bottom lip between her teeth. "If that's how it's gonna be, I guess I'll just have to find my own way to wipe that smug look off of your face."

Now it was her turn.

Still tingling from the force of her orgasm, she reached a hand down between them and grabbed his cock, squeezing gently. He felt just like a human, velvety soft skin over deliciously rigid flesh, the only difference being his slightly cooler skin, but even that was warming in her hot, human hand.

Sliding down off of the bed she took him in her mouth, and before long she was aching again to feel him inside of her; the sounds he was making stoked her arousal almost as much as his touch had moments earlier.

She hummed contentedly around his length as she worked him with her hands and tongue. She couldn't get enough of him. The taste of his skin was driving her wild.

He stopped her far sooner than she would have liked, breath ragged, with a hand in her hair.

"I want to be inside of you now," he growled, eyes wild as he pulled her up onto the bed again and kissed her swollen mouth.

Wordlessly she nodded and laid back on the thick comforter. She was so turned on she could barely think, let alone speak.

The Doctor came to rest over her, bracing himself on his arms and Rose's hips moved to grind up against him of their own accord. She placed her hands on his biceps and looked into his eyes, moaning at the feeling of him pushing against her entrance.

"Rose, are you sure about this?" He whispered.

"As sure as I've ever been of anything, Doctor."

She squeezed his arms reassuringly and lifted her head to kiss him again as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He smiled at her with eyes full of heat and adoration, then pushed slowly inside of her, deeper and deeper, not stopping until their hips met.

The both gasped at the sensation.

He paused for a moment, eyes closed, apparently transfixed by the feeling of her around him.

Rose studied his face and felt emotions swelling within her powerful enough to bring tears to her eyes. She had no words to describe how desperately she loved this man.

_Yes_, she thought. _Yes. This._

"Rose," he breathed, "this is incredible. You are incredible."

"Move, Doctor," she begged, rolling her hips.

He did.

They set a slow, deliberate pace with deep, long strokes, Rose rocking her hips to meet each of his thrusts. She couldn't stop the tears of joy from forming in her eyes as she moved with him. Years of wanting him and missing him came together all at once, and she found herself utterly overwhelmed by emotion.

The Doctor's eyes were filled with wonder, as if he'd never experienced anything quite like her before.

_Well to him you're a stranger,_ she thought to herself. _You are completely brand new._

Overcome with love and desire Rose wrapped her arms and legs tight around him and pulled him closer to her, deeper inside. Her fingers tangled in his silky curls as he bent his forehead to rest against the hollow of her throat.

"Doctor," she gasped.

He moaned in return and kissed her neck, then rolled them over. Rose whimpered briefly as he moved, pulling out of her for a moment, then immediately impaled herself again on his length the moment she found herself on top, able to control their movements.

"Show me what you like," the Doctor said, eyes dark with passion. "And I'll try to remember it for when we meet again."

Rose wouldn't have thought that he could make her blush at this point, naked and riding him in her bed, but at that thought she felt her cheeks flush nonetheless.

She leaned down to kiss him as she began to move, setting a slow, steady rhythm and rolling her hips a little with each stroke, to maximize the depth of his penetration.

"Oh, Rose..." he groaned feverishly as she picked up the pace, "how am I ever going to let you go? If only we had more time together, the places I would take you. We could make love in the shadows of the towers of Darillium as they sing or sneak off to shag in a corner at the coronation of Elizabeth VI..."

His voice, his low, urgent, indecently sexy voice, was driving her mad.

"You like it when I talk," he observed. Reaching up to cup a breast in each palm. "Come on Rose. Show me how you like to ride my cock."

He was close, she could tell. Sitting up, she took his hand and put it between them, silently asking for him to touch her. He complied.

It only took a moment. Suddenly Rose fell forward as the orgasm ripped through her and the universe exploded in a flood of white light.

The Doctor wrapped his arms tight around her and rolled her over again onto her back. He then began to pound into her desperately, taking one of her legs over his shoulder as he gripped the headboard with his other hand.

Rose gasped and cried out with the force and depth of every stroke, her inner walls hypersensitive from her orgasm.

"Yes, yes," she moaned, clutching at his thighs, the sheets, her own hair, anything she could reach.

The Doctor kept moving faster and harder, and Rose closed her eyes to ride the wave of sensation until his she felt his movements becoming erratic. She opened her eyes to see every muscle in his body tense up as he came, head thrown back and eyes closed,with an almost animalistic sound torn from his throat. Gasping (in spite of his respiratory bypass) he raised his eyes to hers, and they were full of such passion and awe it brought fresh tears to her eyes.

He moved off of her, despite her sounds of protest, and came to lie next to her on the bed, propped up on one arm as he ran his fingers through her tangled hair, gently loosening the knots.

When she looked up at him, his blue eyes were soft and full of joy.

"That was amazing, Rose. Thank you." No pretenses, no gloating. He was utterly sincere.

"Nothin' to thank me for," she replied, heart swelling with happiness. "I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to do that."

_We should get up,_ she thought to herself, _and I should be on my way._

But she wasn't about to be the first one to move. The Doctor looked like he wasn't much interested in moving either, just yet. And so for a little while, Rose allowed herself to bask in the warm afterglow of amazing sex, and simply be happy in the arms of the man she loved.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for your patience, wonderful readers! I know it's been a while since my last update. I rewrote this chapter three times before I was satisfied with it... I really wanted it to be as perfect as I could make it. The thought of Eight's voice in the bedroom... well... let's just say I wanted to do it justice. I am, at last, pleased with what I've written, and I hope you are too! :-) Your feedback has been awesomely inspiring and motivating. Thanks for coming on this crazy ride with me! I'll try to update again soon... xxoo -O.A.**


	6. Epilogue

It was all too soon when he felt her stirring beside him.

The TARDIS had found his counterpart hours ago, but he didn't want to wake her. He told himself it was because she needed as much rest as she could get, before diving headfirst into whatever disaster she was courting. He almost believed it.

"Hello there," he said softly, kissing her neck as she stretched against him.

"Hey, you," she yawned, blinking happily into his face.

He smiled down at her.

"You alright?" he asked

"I'm amazing," she replied, leaning up to brush her lips against his. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Mmmm, you're most welcome, he said, giving her a squeeze before sitting up beside her.

"And now," he began.

"And now?" she purred, with a raise of her eyebrow, reaching for the sheet that covered his thighs as she arched her back at him suggestively.

"And now, you little minx," he laughed, grabbing her wrists and leaning over to pin them on either side of her head, "it's time to get you home."

Her face changed at once from flirty to something else... a mixture of hope and regret that he recognized because he was feeling exactly the same thing.

There was nothing for it, though, and delaying would only upset them both, so he stood up and gathered his clothes in her arms before leaning over to give her a soft, chaste kiss. He tried not to notice the tremble of her warm lips against his.

"Meet me in the console room in thirty minutes," he whispered, running a hand through her tousled hair.

And then he walked out of the door, naked, knowing that she was staring after him, enjoying the view.

* * *

When she walked into the console room she was carrying one of the largest guns he had ever seen that wasn't mounted on a tank or an aircraft.

"What in the universe is that!?" he exclaimed.

Rose shrugged.

"Found it in my room when I got back from the shower," she explained, then jerked her chin towards one of the view screens. "The TARDIS sensors show Daleks nearby so... since you can't be there with me I guess maybe she wanted to keep me safer?"

Daleks. He frowned. He hadn't consulted the environmental scans, yet. Glancing at the wide-range sensor read out she saw that Rose was correct.

He took a deep breath, and asked, "Rose, are you sure I can't come with you?"

He knew what she would say, what she should say, but he had to ask again. "It's just not a good idea, a human woman walking alone into a den of Daleks. And I might remind you that I'm actually rather brilliant at handling this sort of thing?"

She smiled sadly as she shook her head, leaning the giant gun against the wall as she walked towards him.

"I want that," she said sadly. "So much. But as I said before, there are... a lot of things that happen for you, between you and him, a lot of questions you would have that can't be answered. So no, I don't think you should come. But you will be with me," she reminded him. "I'm going to find you right now."

"Well surely two Doctors would be twice as good, then," he pressed the issue gently, before blushing at the look that crossed her face.

"Mmmm," she sighed with sparkling eyes, reaching up to take him by the lapels. "I think I had a dream about that last night."

This woman would drive him mad.

"Oh did you?" he asked, pulling her body against his and speaking in a low, dark voice. "And how were we?"

She smiled wickedly at him without replying and pulled his head down for a kiss.

"I'm glad I met you," she whispered when they parted, carding her fingers through his hair. "This you. This open, happy, dancing you from before... well, from before."

"It sounds like I've got quite the adventure to look forward to before I next see your face," he remarked wryly.

"You know I can't say anything," she smiled sadly. "But you've got at least a couple of lifetimes to live, eh? And I can't imagine they would ever be boring ones."

"I suppose that's a fair assumption," he agreed.

"Will you remember me?" she asked him abruptly. "I know... you've told me that it's hard to remember things if you cross your own time stream."

"Hard to say," he confessed. "If I were here with you and another me, then I would certainly forget everything that has happened here until we had both lived it. But there's only one me here right now, so it's a grey area, depending on how long from now I meet you, and how intricately our time streams are entwined... I expect I'll remember at least some of this, somewhere in my mind, though probably not consciously, not for years to come."

"Probably better if you don't," she said thoughtfully. "If it turns out you've just been playing dumb about this since I met you..." She narrowed her eyes and shook her fist in a mock threat.

They both laughed.

She looked at the view screen, at the other TARDIS in the distance, and swallowed hard. It was time to go, she knew, but it seemed she wasn't ready.

"I just can't believe this has all been real!" she exclaimed, just a little too brightly. "I keep expecting to wake up and see a fleet of zeppelins outside the window."

"Zeppelins!" The Doctor exclaimed in amusement, knowing she was stalling but not really caring.

Rose laughed, though there were tears in her eyes.

"Oh yeah," she assured him; stretching out the small talk to prolong her departure. "In that alternate universe they never went out of style. London was absolutely lousy with airships."

"Imagine that..." He marveled.

Silence fell between them, thick with the things they would never be able to say, at least not for a few lifetimes in his case.

"Best be on your way now, Rose Tyler," he urged her, savoring the feeling of her name on his tongue. "Wouldn't want to keep me waiting."

After a moment's hesitation, she ran towards him and threw herself into his arms.

"I'll get back to you," she vowed desperately. "Today. I promise I will. And then... Doctor, I promise I will be with you forever. There's not a force in the universe that could take me from you again."

"Rose, Rose, Rose," he murmured into her hair, holding her close. "If I've ever met anyone capable of keeping that impossible promise, I do believe it might be you."

Reluctantly, he disengaged himself from her embrace and steered her towards the door.

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler," he proclaimed dramatically, "you mysterious human girl who smells like time and tastes like heaven and seduced a Time Lord. Get away before I grab you again and never let you go."

She laughed through her tears at his theatrics.

"I promise," he went on to say, "that I will never see a zeppelin again without thinking fondly of cheeky blonde adventurers from the land of rigid air ships."

He kissed her hand and backed away towards the console, releasing her.

"I'll see you in a couple of lifetimes," he told her softly.

"And I'll see you in an hour," she promised, picking up her gun and opening the door.

"I can't wait." He told her sincerely.

And then she was gone.

He stared at the door for a few moments after it closed, feeling happy and sad all at once. Then he turned to the TARDIS console and smiled to himself.

"Where to now, old girl?" he said, flipping the dematerialization switch, anxious to get away from his counterpart before they could sense each other.

_Cheeky blonde adventurers and rigid air ships, _he thought to himself, amused, as they disappeared into the vortex, savoring the memory of Rose before it could fade.

A little while later he decided to go hunt down the TARDIS manual, so that he could give the old girl a little bit of love and care after the rough few months they had shared. But he'd hardly gotten anywhere in his search before a glitch in the vortex had him sprinting back to the console room, attempting to save the TARDIS from a flock of... were those vortisaurs?

_Never boring, _he thought, kicking in a few evasive maneuvers, searching for an escape route. _I wonder what's next?_

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it, lovelies. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I know I certainly have! These two are absolutely a delight to write for... but now Rose is off to find Ten in _The Stolen Earth_, Eight is headed on a crash course for Miss Charley Pollard in _Storm Warning_, and everything is back in its own time and place. (Sort of.) Thank you all for being such a wonderfully positive and supportive audience. You've been fantastic. I'd love to hear what you think! xxo - O.A.**


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